More Catching up….!

The back treatment I had earlier in the year seems to have helped. I had a week of Magnetic Resonance Treatment at the Nicky Snazell’s Pain Clinic. I had an hour each day in a modified version of an M.R.I Scanner. This is is just a wraparound ……….so no claustrophobic tunnel problems.You feel a bit like the sausage in a sausage roll. Very relaxing and painless…except on the Bank Balance. It could take up to 6 months to see the full effect but I am feeling more confident. In the meantime I had several deep muscle acapuncture sessions. When Allan saw the length of the needles he went wobble and he nearly passed out. What a Wuss!

Great to be catching up with my friend Jenny on a more regular basis. Also good to see Anne for a Wetherspoons every couple of weeks. Friends are very important to us and our only regret is that being so busy we can’t always get together and we miss out on special days working at weekends and the dates being fixed so far in advance. Big thanks to all of them for being so understanding and supportive.

The ensuing pain and depression after losing so many friends over the last few months led to an inevitable “taking stock”. This led to an unscheduled last minute holiday in March. Instead of a chilling week in Wales we opted for a week in Gran Canaria at the Riu Palace, Meloneras. Our friends, Roger and Barb use them a lot and recommended them to us. This was our first visit to a Riu and we were very impressed. We were the only riff raff there. I couldn’t get used to the waiter helping me to sit down Coming from Friar Park I thought he was trying to pull my chair from under me.

THIS AY ONE OF THEM ‘OSSES OFF THE CU

GOT THE LEGS OUT AN’ EVERYTHING

RIU PALACE , MELONERAS

Coming more or less up to date the Black Country Tour has been a real Blast. Must admit we had reservations. Along with our elegant compere, Mr. Peter Lee we were the oldest on the bill. Would we be able to keep up….would we have anything in common……… would the Red Bull and the extra strong “Bum and Tum” tights get Allan through without too much ridicule? We needn’t have worried because the rest of the cast were great and we all got along really well. The audience reaction was really positive. I have covered the tour in my Diary 2015

BACKSTAGE ON THE B.C. TOUR

ONSTAGE AT LICHFIELD GARRICK

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“A lorry on it’s way to the Glasgow Depot has overturned on the M8 and spilled it’s entire cargo or pre-packed salad bags onto the carriageway. A policeman has warned drivers to expect delays of 4 minutes while the driver picks both bags up!”

Listening to two guys in the pub. “Yes, I’ve realised I have an alcohol related problem…the wife!

And if Les Dawson were alive today he would be saying “I’m not saying my wife is big but she has just took a Selfie in Panoramic mode.”

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Just got back from a torrential, wind swept Wales . Bank Holiday Monday was fine but it didn’t last long. Welsh National Dress should be the Kagoul and wellies. The sea and the sky are one and the mountains have disappeared in the thick Welsh mist. It has 2 types of rain “chucking it down” and that soft drizzle that really wets you. Just us left on the site…says it all!

Back home to do some more gigs and to cast our vote. Still not had the boiler replaced and summer still feels a long way off. Been a very busy few weeks and lots of power naps to get us through. The house looks like we’ve been robbed so we keep going out so we can’t see it.

News broke this week of a lady who had killed herself because of aggressive marketing from different charity groups. This seems more and more the trend. Bombarded by the robotic people manning call centres who have no idea if or how much we donate to any given charity. We are accosted on the high streets in every town by over confident failed actors and bullied by begging letters and guilt inducing photographs. This, along with the constant barrage of film footage between programmes.We can all only give so much.

In depth studies have proved many of these charities to be ineffectual and badly run with a huge percentage of the funds creamed off to “pay management,” re-brand, new logos and shop refits all take money away from the real cause Some of these people who work for these charities have little understanding of the human condition. I speak from personal experience. They are so busy team building, event’s organising and being politically correct but sometimes they just need a refresher course on people skills. After saying all this we did a charity gig for St. Mary’s Hospice in memory of Tommy Mundon and the lady from there who organised it was brilliant. We do a lot of Charity work and work for some lovely people and have helped to raise a lot of money since we started in 1978. Most of the “ordinary” people who do fund raisers know how to treat people and know how to treat performers who have been entertaining as long as we have. Let us hope that our recent brush with “charity officialdom” will be a one off.